The establishment closed its doors several days later, but Thursday night Red Hen reopened for business and only accepted customers with reservations. A sign on the restaurant’s door said it was fully booked for the evening, according to WDBJ.

A two-sided debate

Outside the restaurant, several protesters held signs that said, “Hey Red Hen Go Cluck Yourself” and “No Civility, No Peas.”

“We’re here today because actions have consequences,” Paul Brockman, a spokesman for the Patriot Picket, a group that advocates for Second Amendment rights, told WDBJ.

“We think the place for political statements is at the ballot box, not at the dinner table,” he said.

Others were there to support the restaurant.

“I think it was very brave what the owner did, probably a very hard decision,” Don Mandelkorn told WDBJ.

One sign read: “Red Hen 2018 = 1960 Woolworth Lunch Counter.” New Jersey resident Terry Layman told WDBJ he doesn’t think the events are comparable — one centered around political ideology and the other around civil rights.

Part of a larger conversation

Since Sanders’ tweet, Red Hen has become emblematic of a national debate over civility and decency in a time of political differences. President Trump added to the incident’s profile when he berated the restaurant in a tweet.

“The Red Hen Restaurant should focus more on cleaning its filthy canopies, doors and windows (badly needs a paint job) rather than refusing to serve a fine person like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I always had a rule, if a restaurant is dirty on the outside, it is dirty on the inside!” Trump said.